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In 2001 the Bird Award - North Sea Jazz Festival's most prestigious award that was recently renamed the Paul Acket Award - was presented to Toon Roos. At the time the jury said all that can be said about this master of the saxophone. "Toon Roos belongs to the best tenor sax players in the Netherlands. He is versatile, plays in the most versatile ensemble and controls his instrument like no other. His playing possesses an intense eloquence. His tone that is immediately recognizable is round and agile. Although rooted in tradition, Toon Roos belongs to the modern generation of jazz musicians who stylistically know no limits, and in that sense he is a true example of the current state of affairs in jazz music." Meanwhile, Roos has been a professional musician for 25 years. He played with the widely acclaimed Dutch Jazz Orchestra for a long time. These days he usually leads his own bands. On his latest album Love Revisited he declares his love of acoustic jazz. And he does so in his own way, like Joe Zawinul once described it: "Nice and easy - you feel the music..."
- North Sea Jazz Festival
Discography
As band leader
Toon Roos Quartet Love Revisited (Green Heart Records) 2008
Toon Roos Group Free At Last (JJ Tracks / Challenge) 2003
Toon Roos Quartet The Human Feel (September) 1993
Toon Roos Quartet Attitudes (Timeless) 1988
Toon Roos Quartet First Impression (Timeless) 1984
As band member
Ivan Paduart In Exile Of Dreams (Jazz 'n Pulz)
Ivan Paduart A Night At The Music Village (Jazz 'n Pulz)
O Septeto Plus Rodinho (Keytone)
Jerry van Rooyen/Dutch Jazz Orchestra On The Scene With The Dutch Jazz Orchestra (Dutch Jazz)
Dutch Jazz Orchestra The Music Of Rob Madna (Dutch Jazz)
Dutch Jazz Orchestra Portrait Of A Silk Thread / The Unknown Works Of Billy Strayhorn (Challenge)
Dutch Jazz Orchestra Billy Strayhorn (Challenge) 4 CD-box
Amsterdam Jazz Quintet Pictures of Amsterdam (A - Records)
Amsterdam Jazz Quintet Portraits (Challenge)
Amsterdam Jazz Quintet Signature (Groove)
Clare Foster Clare Foster Sings Wayne Shorter (Groove)
Northsea Jazz Tentet Northsea Jazz Tentet (September)
The Winners Wessel Ilcken 'Tribute' (Mirasound)
John Clayton Big Band Tribute (Timeless)
As guest soloist
More Moves More Moves (Baileo)
Jamesz Fatuh
James Trio (Goldfish) James Trio
Jazz Orchestra Of The Concertgebouw Festival (Part 1)
Martijn van Iterson (Via) It's Happening
Konkie Halmeyer (World Tour) Rap On Steel
Juraj Stanik (Daybreak) En Blanc Et Noir (1)
Sylvi Lane (Willibrord Jazz) In The Palm Of My Hand
Carmen Sars (Magnif) Silent Eyes
Carmen Gomes Heaven Is A State Of Mind
Photos
Bio
THE TOON ROOS QUARTET - LOVE REVISITED
In 2008, Dutch tenor and soprano saxophonist Toon Roos celebrates his 25th anniversary as an artist with the presentation of his fifth CD Love Revisited. On this album Toon revisits the romanticism of the jazz standards combined with original compositions. On Saturday 2 February 2008, the CD was presented to the audience with a quartet performance at a sold out Bimhuis in Amsterdam. This was the start of their CD promotion tour.
The new Toon Roos Quartet has an all-star line up with Karel Boehlee on piano and synthesizer, Hein van de Geyn on double bass and Joost van Schaik on drums. Sound, groove, lyricism and interaction are key elements in the performance of this quartet. Toon: 'After the funky jazz of The Human Feel and Free At Last I felt an urge to return to the acoustic quartet and the never-ending potential of the standards. It feels like flying a private jet, heading for the most exciting destinations.'
Love Revisited demonstrates the powerful chemistry of the TRQ, especially between Toon and Karel, a partnership that goes back many years. With Toon, Karel recorded the album Attitudes in 1987 and Free At Last in 2003. He is one of the most creative pianists in the Netherlands, and has developed a personal style of playing, lyrical with an intense groove. Karel and bass player Hein van de Geyn know each other well, travelling together as regular band members of the Toots Thielemans Quartet, touring in several European countries, South Africa, Brazil and Japan. Karel teaches piano at the jazz department of the Conservatory of Amsterdam. Read more about Karel on www.karelboehlee.com.
Hein van de Geyn has been establishing himself as one of the most sought after bass players in Europe. He has worked with numerous celebrities like Chet Baker, Lee Konitz and Dee Dee Bridgewater and regularly works with John Abercrombie in his own band 'Baseline'. Hein is head of the bass section in the jazz department of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Read more about Hein on www.baselinemusic.nl
Joost van Schaik is one of the finest jazz drummers from the Netherlands with great musical understanding and a serious groove. He plays with several jazz groups and has worked with many great artists such as Curtis Fuller, James Moody, Toots Thielemans, Lew Tabackin, Bert Joris, and the Brussels Jazz Orchestra. He has been teaching jazz drums at the conservatories of Rotterdam, Groningen and Enschede since 2001.
'Love Revisited' offers interpretations by the TRQ of songs with an attractive variation in groove, energy and atmosphere. It features classics such as Parkers Au Privave, a straight ahead blues, the Brazilian warmth of Jobims If You Never Come to Me and Shorters more spacious Footprints, seducing the quartet to more open, interactive group playing. The relaxed and happy swing of I Thought About You is Toons tribute to one of his main sources of inspiration, the Capitol Years of Frank Sinatra. Different colours also come from the two romantic originals, Little Princess by pianist Karel Boehlee and Toons ballad Return To Happiness, the duo song that ends the album.
Successful performances of the Toon Roos Quartet in recent years were amongst others Toon's Bird Award concert at the North Sea Jazz Festival 2001, the concert at the Kurhaus in The Hague in 2002 and the concert on Valentine's Day 2003 at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In 2008 the quartet had a sold out concert at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam and had a succesful performance at the North Sea Jazz Festival.
On 15 November 2008 Toon and his quartet members Karel Boehlee and Hein van de Geyn will perform with drum legend Peter Erskine in Bonn, Germany and after that Toon, Karel, Hein and Peter will make studio recordings for Toon's next quartet album. In 2009 the quartet will perform live with drummer Joost van Schaik, and is planning on several concerts with Peter Erskine.
BIO TOON ROOS
Toon Roos (say Tone Rose) , born 11 April 1964, started his international career with a performance of the Toon Roos Quartet at the North Sea Jazz Festival in 1984, after which an extensive tour in Holland followed. Soon he made his first tour abroad to Italy playing at the Puglia Jazz Festival. With his quartet he recorded his debut album 'First Impression' for Timeless Records. Toon also received the Wessel Ilcken Prize, an encouragement prize for young jazz talent. In 1985 Toon finished a three year study at the Rotterdam Conservatory with saxophonist Ferdinand Povel.
In 1989 Toon went to New York City with a grant from the Dutch government and took private lessons with tenorists George Coleman, Bob Berg and Bill Evans. During his five months stay Toon learned a lot on many levels. He did a lot of playing on sessions, performed several nights with organist Jack Macduff at the Showman's Café in Harlem and was invited on stage by Toots Thielemans to sit in with his quartet wit
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